"Initially constructed as a single masted sloop, Velocipede had been later rebuilt as a schooner with two masts. She spent her entire career on Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shore, sailing mostly out of Racine, Wisconsin where she was used to transport both package and bulk freights."

Final Voyage

On April 26, 1877 the Velocipede sailed light out of Racine Harbor bound for Muskegon, Michigan. That night a gale had increased in severity and persisted for a week. The Velocipede failed to report in at Muskegon. Eight miles east southeast of Kenosha Harbor the grisley remains of the Velocipede were discovered. She had been broken in two amidships with her sides broken in and decks washed away. Salvors were able to tow the wreckage of the Velocipede to near the Kenosha pier where she became waterlogged and was scuttled on the bottom. The masts and rigging were all that was recovered, the hull was abandoned in place.